FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Melissa Neuman, CDCO
November 13, 2025 Phone (512) 323-6371 Ex. 102
melissa@seedlingmentors.org
Full report available here.
Children Impacted by Parental Incarceration Experiencing
Added Challenges
New Evaluation Shows Growing Social-Emotional Needs Among Central Texas Students
Austin, TX: Seedling Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing school-based mentoring for children impacted by parental incarceration, recently released its 2024-25 annual program evaluation showing that children who have an incarcerated parent are experiencing increased challenges and an elevated need for mentoring.
According to the evaluation, 61% of the children in the program had positive outcomes in persistence, and 38% of elementary students and 36% of middle and high school students had feelings of social acceptance. 50% of mentored students had positive feelings of school engagement, and 52% of middle school and high school students exhibited positive feelings of hope, all highlighting needs for mentoring.
“Students impacted by parental incarceration experience heavy, daily challenges that many adults could not imagine that a child would have to take on. The children need a mentor more than ever as they face stresses and very real feelings that require our attention,” said Dan Leal, Seedling Foundation Chief Executive Officer.
Meanwhile, 94% of children impacted by parental incarceration said they felt close to their mentor, and the average match length of the program was 2 years 6 months, more than double the national average. Seedling mentees attended 89.8% of school days, and 82% of all mentees did not have a disciplinary incident.
Seedling released its independent program evaluation conducted by Dr. Karen Looby, an Austin-based researcher and program evaluator with more than 30 years of experience in public education. Seedling served 506 children in 139 Central Texas schools during the 2024-2025 school year. The study measured primary mentoring program outcome areas of persistence, school engagement, resilience, and personal development skills, and secondary outcomes of attendance and disciplinary outcomes.
Having a parent in prison is recognized by the Center for Disease Control as one of ten adverse childhood experiences. Children who have an incarcerated parent average 3.7 ACEs during their childhoods. Adverse childhood experiences can have a long-lasting impact on a child’s development and health and can increase the risk of chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse in adulthood.
The 2024-25 Seedling mentoring program evaluation had the following positive results based on student surveys and school district data:
- 94% of mentees reported feeling close to their mentor.
- The average match length for Seedling was 2 years, 6 months, which is double the national average.
- 85% of mentees had positive outcomes in at least three (of six) key program areas.
- 89.8% was the average school attendance rate for mentees.
- 82% of mentees did not have a disciplinary incident, up from 70% the previous year.
- 98% of mentees were promoted to the next grade or graduated.
- 84% of mentees had positive results in their personal development skills.
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About Seedling: Since the 2005-06 school year, Seedling has provided school-based mentoring for over 3200 children impacted by parental incarceration. During the 2024-26 school year, Seedling provided mentoring for 506 children in 139 Central Texas schools, making new matches in Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD, Hays CISD, and Austin Achieve Public Schools. Each year, Seedling also awards scholarships of up to $8,000 to 8th-grade students to use toward their post-secondary education. For more information, please visit www.seedlingmentors.org.